Thanks for the welcome. I flew P-3s for the Navy, it was sad to see her replaced with the P-8, but it was time.

 

Glad to find the OF, watches are my new obsession. I am on a staff tour now. I'll get some plane/watch action shots when I get back CONUS.

 

The P-3 Orion was a great aircraft. So well suited to its role. In a former life I was a medical officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (what you Americans call a "flight surgeon"?) and I was lucky enough to fly in one as a casual observer. We've replaced ours with the P-8 as well.

 

Picked up this Planet Ocean XL out in town, its a heavy watch, but pilots are supposed to wear big watches.

 

Never trust the public to name your aircraft...

 

A great weekend at the Lincolnshire Aviation Centre air show (Former RAF East Kirkby in WW2 and home of the Lancaster Just Jane).
This sign in the toilets always makes me smile...
.

 

Had to post some photos from the show as well. Aways a great atmosphere, a super fun day and a real tribute to those who served in the RAF during WW2. The BBMF also put on an awsome display.
.

 

Q: Is it possible to have too many patches on a flight jacket?



A: Nope.

 

Does your Type G-1 look anything like this?

 

Ummm…no…due to being a rotorhead, I wasn’t allowed to be jet puke sassy (saucy) with my G-1……

 

Beautiful jacket. Just the right number of patches too!
Does the Type G-1 ever get worn in the cockpit by modern naval aviators? Or is it strictly Nomex these days? Just curious.

 

Thanks, sir…it was issued to me at AOCS in 1986…and I wore it fairly often in the cockpit of the SH-60B in the late 1980s/early 1990s. I have no idea if the G-1 currently gets worn in the cockpit…good question…maybe @ketchj can chime in.

Also, I started feeling a little sassy (saucy) and decided to give it the old college try regarding temporarily slathering my G-1 in patches…

 

The nomex jackets are for flair, the leather jackets are for style.

 

I love the just say no to black shoe!

 

Departure out of Ecuador.

 

Somewhere over the Pacific

 

Loving your photos! I’m getting reacquainted with flying and currently starting my PPL again. I didn’t have the patience or finances available years ago but I’m very excited to get back in the air. Keep sharing your pictures, this thread is becoming a favourite!

 

That patch did not fair well on deployment when we were detached to and flying off cruisers, destroyers, and frigates. We typically only had 4 to 6 [brown shoe] pilots compared to about 30 [black shoe] SWOs…and of course the Captain of the ship was a [black shoe] SWO who wrote our fitreps…but…yeah…we gave it the old college try with that patch a few times to test the waters but it never ended well for us.

Anyway, you must be happy you went P-3s and didn’t have to deal with black shoes, right?

 

And not having to deal with black shoes!

YAY!

 

Keep at it! My advice to anyone working on their PPL is to dedicate the time to get it done quickly. Don't waste your money on warmup rides, when you could use that time and money later sharing the view with family and friends. I got mine while in high school and it took me a little longer than needed.

I was a military IP for close to 13 years, both in the P-3 and the T-44 (King Air 90), back in the saddles were an overhead cost that we didn't like to have too much of.